After Kevin Thomson recommended Ryan Porteous to Michael Beale, Michael Stewart said, “that’d’ve gone down well” if Rangers had signed the Scotland international.
According to the Daily Record (9 September), a BBC analyst remarked on Sportsound that the now-Watford player wouldn’t have been well-liked at Ibrox after Thomson claimed that he had advised the now-Gers manager to recruit the defender while the two were working as assistant coaches at the team under Steven Gerrard.
Thomson thinks they got a “steal” when Porteous, 24, moved to Watford in January, but he anticipates their commitment to keep him will be put to the test sooner rather than later.
“£450k for Ryan Porteous, it’s a steal, Watford must be rubbing their hands,” remarked Thomson. In fact, while I was coaching in the academy at Rangers, I advised Mick Beale to sign him.
He said, “He would have ended up with the same reputation as me,” following Stewart’s intervention. All of them are growing. I don’t mean to be disparaging to Watford, but I think someone will test their fortitude soon given Ryan’s performances.
a missed chance?
In the midst of Scotland’s stellar qualification campaign under Steve Clarke, Porteous has emerged as a standout. On Friday, September 8, he scored in the most recent victory, a 3-0 triumph against Cyprus.
Before he departed Hibs for England, he was rumored to be moving to Ibrox before the January transfer market opened, according to a report from Jim Duffy on Clyde Superscoreboard on December 5.
However, considering his past conflicts with the Rangers, it was viewed as fairly contentious at the time [The Times] and obviously didn’t hapen.
Beale may be regretting not making the trade when he had the chance, either in the winter or when Thomson brought it up a few years ago, given that he was trying to bolster his central defense unit during the summer but wasn’t able to do so other from bringing Leon Balogun back as injury cover.
Stewart is undoubtedly accurate that a move wouldn’t have gone over well, but most players can win over the fan base if they just deliver on the field.
After a difficult start to the season and another defeat to Celtic, Beale himself isn’t doing too well with the fans right now.
Because of this, even though it currently seems unlikely, things can change quickly in football, and it could not come as a complete surprise if Porteous played at Ibrox once more in the future.
